AFP
PHNOM PENH: Just his image on a projection screen was enough to send a murmur through the crowd of hundreds watching a broadcast of Khmer Rouge jailer Duch’s first public appearance in Cambodia’s genocide court.
"Duch, Duch", some people said, repeating his name like a mantra, while others seemed less spellbound, commenting on the 65-year-old’s relatively unchanged face, last seen in public eight years ago.
"Oh, he’s still the same," commented one surprised witness. Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, was the star of the UN-backed tribunal’s first public session on Tuesday as he appealed for his freedom from pre-trial detention.
For most of those seated in the tribunal’s main courtroom, watching a live broadcast of the hearing as it unfolded in the court chamber next door, it was the first glimpse of the man who once oversaw one of the most notorious institutions run by the Khmer Rouge, Tuol Sleng prison.
Duch allegedly supervised the torture and extermination of 16,000 men, women and children at Tuol Sleng during the regime’s 1975-79 rule over Cambodia. He was arrested by Cambodia’s genocide tribunal in July, becoming the first top Khmer Rouge cadre to be detained.
"Duch, Duch", some people said, repeating his name like a mantra, while others seemed less spellbound, commenting on the 65-year-old’s relatively unchanged face, last seen in public eight years ago.
"Oh, he’s still the same," commented one surprised witness. Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, was the star of the UN-backed tribunal’s first public session on Tuesday as he appealed for his freedom from pre-trial detention.
For most of those seated in the tribunal’s main courtroom, watching a live broadcast of the hearing as it unfolded in the court chamber next door, it was the first glimpse of the man who once oversaw one of the most notorious institutions run by the Khmer Rouge, Tuol Sleng prison.
Duch allegedly supervised the torture and extermination of 16,000 men, women and children at Tuol Sleng during the regime’s 1975-79 rule over Cambodia. He was arrested by Cambodia’s genocide tribunal in July, becoming the first top Khmer Rouge cadre to be detained.
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